Okay, so I am well aware that my title consists of a double negative and bad grammar. Yet, I stand by my title and the sentiments behind it. Last week, I was re-entering my place of work after my 15-minute break. As I grabbed the door handle, a bright green grasshopper popped out from underneath the handle and brushed my hand as it jumped onto the glass.
It startled me. I paused and looked around for a second after I let out a slight squeal to ensure no one noticed my brief state of panic. Surprisingly, no one noticed my encounter with the six-legged insect. I hesitantly cracked the door open and carefully slipped inside the building. Once away from the grasshopper, he was out of sight and out of mind. Until a YouTuber just so happened to randomly mention how she incorrectly compared herself to a grasshopper in times past…
And so, then I knew that the little green grasshopper was strategically tucked under that door handle to teach me a lesson, or rather to remind me of a lesson I had heard before. In a nutshell, the lesson is “I ain’t no grasshopper” and neither are you … and I have God’s Word to prove it.
And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
(Numbers 13:33 KJV)
To give you a little back story on this verse, this is the point in time where the children of Israel was commanded by God to go forth and seize the land that was rightfully theirs. But the land was infiltrated by giants and mighty warriors. So, the children of Israel shrunk within themselves. They cowered away from possessing what was theirs because they viewed themselves as too small to win. Too powerless for victory… they viewed themselves as grasshoppers.
But often, what we view ourselves as and what we really are, do not coincide. If we are children of God, and we truly believe what scripture says about us, then we know that we have the power and authority to claim what is ours. 1 John 4:4 states, “Greater is He that is within you than he that is within the world”.
That means God literally dwells within the fabric of your being. You possess unfathomable power right within your core. Ephesians 3:20 states “Now unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us”. Romans 8:37 states, “we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us”. Did you catch the word “more”? Meaning a conqueror doesn’t quite fit our description because we are greater than it. Here’s a little algebra for you to paint the picture clearer:
You are not this: You < Conqueror
You are not this: You = Conqueror
You are this: You > Conqueror
Furthermore, Romans 8:31 states “If God is for us, who can be against us?” So, why exactly did the children of Israel think that they couldn’t possess the land? Why did they view themselves as grasshoppers? They thought these things because they believed a lie.
Listen to me… and listen to me well. You were created to conquer and claim every single piece of land and territory that God has given to you. God created everything—the land, the seas, every beast and every creeping thing on earth—for us. The earth is literally here for us to conquer it.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
(Genesis 1:28 KJV)
Subdue it! God says to subdue it. Would God call a grasshopper to subdue the land? Or would He call someone who is walking in authority to subdue it? The children of Israel who thought they were grasshoppers received and subdued nothing. But the ones who had the nerve, the gall, the grit, and the tenacity to seize the land, conquered the land.
God says you are not a grasshopper! The land is ripe and ready for the taking. But you must go and do as God says. Yes, there were giants present. But the next generation marched around the walls of Jericho at God’s command. Yes, there were mighty men of war beyond the walls. But they marched seven times around the city on the seventh day and shouted, then the walls crumbled.
Likewise, we will face opposition in this life. We will be troubled by attacks from the enemy, fiery darts from the hardships of life, and ticking bombs from our very own deceitful flesh. But when God gives you your marching papers to march around your giants… you had better march!
March by praying. March by fasting. March by reading the Word of God. March by walking in obedience to what is said in the Word of God. And shout by shouting praises to God to confuse the enemy and edify yourself. If we do this, those walls will fall, and we will have the victory. We will win.
What can we not do with God at our side? I believe and I know that the land is mine because I ain’t no grasshopper. I believe the land is yours because you ain’t no grasshopper either. But I can’t believe for you. You have to do that yourself.
I have only one thing in common with the neon-colored critter that perched itself on the glass door at my job. God is my creator, and God is its creator. But that’s where the similarities begin and end. God has given us dominion, power, and authority to possess the land. It’s up to us to take it. So, for the last time, “I ain’t no grasshopper!” And I ain’t no joke. I come to get everything that’s mine because Christ empowers me to do so.
What about you?
Quin Arrington's debut book "And Then You Shall Have Good Success: Attaining Good Success God's Way" is available on Amazon in paperback and eBook format. Link to book listed below.